Post-Polio Fatigue Log
We continually get questions about the “cause” of Post-Polio Fatigue. This Post-Polio Fatigue Log is the most effective means of determining the cause of your fatigue.
Filling Out The Daily Symptom Logs
Please read these directions.
Energy Conservation Lessons, you’ll write on the Daily Log forms what you learn about changing the activities you do, how you do those activities and your symptoms.
The first thing you need to do is buy a good pedometer, that measures the steps you take during the day.
Put the pedometer on your belt over the hip of your weaker leg and write your steps in as you list your activities during the day.
Start noting . . .
• The time you awoke how you felt first thing in the morning.
• When and what you ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• The time of day each activity occurred.
• What you did - dressing, bathing, feeding, meal preparation, climbing stairs, sitting, standing, cleaning, shopping, working, reading, driving and community activities - and how you felt.
• Your Perceived Exertion using the 6 to 20 scale (on the bottom of the Daily Log form) to describe how much effort your activities took.
• The specific muscles that felt weak on a scale from mild to severe.
• Your overall fatigue level on a scale from mild to severe.
• Your pain, mood (guilt, anxiety, sadness) and any breathing or swallowing difficulties on a scale from mild to severe. Note specifically where you had pain.
• Two activities that produced symptoms.
Note how your body was positioned during activities (for example, “stood for 30 minutes ironing”) and what you did (“climbed the stairs 4 times”) and how you could modify the activities to decrease your symptoms.
• The number of steps on your pedometer after each entry you make, and the total number of steps each day.
Remember your logs need to completed throughout the day (not filled in at the end of the day). Give a lot of detail for the first week.
Download the Post-Polio Fatigue Log:
There is more information about Post-Polio Fatigue in the Encyclopedia of Polio and PPS. Look in the Index under “Fatigue”.
After that, you can note only when your activities or symptoms change. There are numerous pedometers available on Amazon for as little as $6.50.